Sunderland defender Bailey Wright says "it's no job done yet" after the Black Cats reached the League One play-off final with a 2-1 aggregate win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Wright delivered a masterful defensive performance, winning man of the match as Alex Neil's side bagged a late aggregate winner through Patrick Roberts, who netted in injury time to send the travelling Sunderland fans into rapturous scenes.
The Black Cats had to weather the storm for lengthy periods of the contest, which looked to be heading for extra-time after Wednesday striker Lee Gregory levelled proceedings on 74 minutes. In the dying embers of the game, winger Jack Clarke skipped past Jordan Storey, crossing the ball into Roberts path, who fired home between the legs of Wednesday keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
And following his man of the match performance, Wright believes Sunderland still have a way to go to if they want to realise their Championship promotion dreams.
READ MORE: Alex Neil hails Jack Clarke's 'quality' as Sunderland book their place in Wembley final
"First and foremost, Sheffield Wednesday gave us a right good game over two legs," said the Australian defender. "Unfortunately, there’s always a loser. But for us, on a positive, we’ve got ourselves in the final. We put bodies on the line and we’ve got boys like Pat, Jack all the lads who have got that quality - big game players, who go and show their quality and punish teams. It’s a joy for us. We put our bodies on the line, tried to keep a clean sheet.
"We obviously didn’t tonight but we give ourselves a platform for these boys to win the game. I’m just delighted for everyone here, the fans, they’ve turned out. We had incredible support Friday, incredible support again today. It just goes to show the size of the club. But it’s by no means job done. We’ve got a long way to go yet.
"We’ve got a belief, we’ve got a camaraderie, we’ve got a togetherness and that’s just not in the playing group, that’s the staff, the fans and that counts for a lot. On top of that, we’ve got quality. Look, it’s going to be a tough final, but we have full belief. It feels a bit different and we’re looking forward to it."
It's been a topsy-turvy season for Sunderland. In January, they sacked then manager Lee Johnson following a dismal 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers, with the club sitting in third.
In came Alex Neil, who steadied a ship that looked ready to sink after a torrid set of results in January. And Wright hailed the transformative impact the Scotsman has had upon the club as a whole.
“He’s been class and I think you can see that from the results, obviously they speak for themselves," added Wright. "In terms of what he’s brought, he’s brought a real culture, a tactical side to our game, I think we’ve got players who can do a bit of everything, we’ve got quality, we’ve got players who can dig in. We’ve got a real togetherness and he’s really brought that in more and more. He doesn’t leave anything untouched.
"He works hard every day to give us all the best platform to go and perform. He’s been a joy to work with but I’m sure he’ll agree. It’s no job done yet, the main one is the one we’re looking forward to. We’ll recover now and be ready for it and I’m sure he’ll have us well prepared."
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